Dr Biswas, Msc, PhD, MBA

I currently provide leadership in the Research and Development (R&D) Department at Gaiagen Technologies, formerly known as Pest Control India Pvt. Ltd. I oversee a vibrant group of professionals in this role, including Lead Scientists, Senior Scientists, Junior Scientists, Senior Research Associates, Junior Research Associates, Technical Officers, and others. My primary role is leading and managing organisational efforts for scientific research and development.

At Gaiagen Technologies, the R&D department is divided into several sections: Mycology and Microbiology, Entomology, and Chemistry. Our shared goal is to create Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs) and enhance currently available products. Our R&D efforts comprise biopesticides, organics, microbial inoculants, pheromones, pesticide baits, as well as mushrooms for both food and adaptogenic purposes, even converting organic waste into fuel. We also conduct basic research in environmental conservation and restoration.

I offer a variety of technical knowledge and experience to my work, with over 12 years of combined experience in industry and academics. Numerous scholarships, fellowships, and grants from esteemed organisations, including the Georg-August University of Goettingen in Germany, the University of Aarhus in Denmark, and the European Commission, have shaped my academic career. My technical knowledge includes mycology and microbiology, metagenomics, recombinant DNA technology, microbial resources, and molecular biology techniques, which are all areas of the life sciences and biology that fall under my sphere of expertise. I have gained this knowledge through a combination of formal schooling, specialised training, workshops, and seminars held by institutes and universities in India, Denmark, Germany, France, and Australia.

I reached important accomplishments in my former role as Lead Scientist for Product Development and Product Lifecycle Management at the same organisation. I created improved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for two items, which led to a significant decrease in the utilisation of technical and raw materials, resulting in impressive savings of 93 % and 64 %, which is also reflected in the cost of goods sold (COGS). Furthermore, I enhanced SOPs to reduce batch failures from over 30% to less than 1%, substantially reducing COGS. During this time, a key achievement was the creation of an SOP that enabled the restoration of a nonconforming product to label specifications while also significantly enhancing its field performance by over 30%. In addition, I successfully showed the in-vitro manufacture of a biological control agent, offering a novel organisational capability that decreased the need for workers and the need for physical space. I also increased the quality of contract research services provided to clients, leading to excellent comments and repeat business. 

I worked at the Personalised Medicine Institute Pvt Ltd (PMI) in Kolkata before I started at Gaiagen Technologies. Despite financial limitations, I performed a crucial leadership role in implementing next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for clinical diagnosis in this organisation. The successful adoption of NGS technology was greatly aided by my proactive interaction with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) in Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes.

In addition, I worked as a Project Fellow at Visva-Bharati University, where I created the scientific research for a project focusing on enhancing soil fertility via phosphate-solubilising rhizobia. I also served as a guest researcher at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, where I looked on psychrophilic bacteria's susceptibility to osmotic stress and UV-induced DNA damage. I successfully defended my proposal as the Principal Investigator for the project as part of the 27th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica, which the Government of India supported. I contributed to studying the microbial biodiversity in Antarctic soil. I oversaw the sample-collecting logistics and wrote up and submitted the project's findings to the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research.

I look forward to the opportunity to continue fostering innovation and excellence to support our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for our plant.